1 firefighter killed, several others injured After Building Collapses in Philadelphia

1 firefighter killed, several others injured in Philadelphia building collapse during fire response

In the early hours of Saturday, a building in Philadelphia fell, causing multiple individuals to sustain injuries and taking the life of at least one firefighter.

The rescue efforts lasted for hours until the 1st Deputy Fire Commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department, Craig Murphy, confirmed to the press shortly before 8 a.m. that the firefighter, who was a 27-year veteran of the department, had passed away in the collapse that occurred on the 300 block of Indiana Avenue in the Fairhill neighborhood.

Firefighters and a city inspector were trapped after a building collapsed during a fire response early Saturday, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department, with more than one person still under the rubble hours after the incident occurred.

So far, dozens have been rescued and taken to the hospital. The fire department said, “Work continuing to release others.” This appears to be a reference to the Department of Licenses and Inspections because it indicated a “L&I inspector” was among those who were stuck in the ruins.

How many individuals were still trapped, how badly they were hurt, and how long they would be stranded for were unknown at first. A phone call to the department went unanswered.

Numerous firefighters and other first responders could be seen surrounding the wreckage and bricks in the photo posted with the tweet.

In spite of the fact that the photo showed no traces of smoke or fire, the tweet stated that “The fire response remains at 2-alarms.”

The official fire department Twitter account for automatic notifications sent a warning about a fire at an address in the Fairhill district of northern Philadelphia just after 2:05 a.m. four hours earlier.

A short tweet with the words “UPDATE: All Hands” followed quickly after. About two and a half hours later, another tweet said that the blaze had been put out and provided the same address.